1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to mouse devices and more particularly to a mouse device used as a pointing device of a computer and having a built-in printer.
2. Background Art
In the past, U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,208 has disclosed a mouse device having a printing function. The mouse device is used to specify with a mouse function a range of any part of data displayed on a display screen of a computer, and to instruct the computer to print the specified range of data. The mouse device prints, using the printing function, the specified range of data based on corresponding print information output from the computer.
The mouse device has a printing head on a lower surface of its housing. The mouse device is placed on external recording paper so that the printing head can be moved on the recording paper to thereby print on the recording paper.
When all data of one-several pages displayed on the display screen of the computer are to be printed, a general printer such as a page printer is used. When an especially required part of data displayed on the display screen is to be extracted and left as a memorandum, the data part can be printed conveniently, using the mouse and printer functions of the mouse device.
Since the mouse device is moved on the external printing paper for printing, however, the external paper has a size larger than the mouse device. Data to be printed on the external recording paper is extracted partly from data displayed on the display screen of the computer and a quantity of the data is generally small in many cases.
Thus, when only a very small part of the data displayed on the display screen is extracted and printed on the external recording paper (for example, of an A4 size) by the mouse device, a very small part of the external recording paper is used. Thus, the data part printed on the paper is not in harmony in size with the printing paper. The printed recording paper is too large to leave as a memorandum and is difficult to handle. The printed part of the recording paper could be cut away, which is, however, troublesome and wastes of the paper would be produced.
A memorandum of simple contents can be expressed on a piece of paper having a size of 10-20 mm widexc3x9750-100 mm long. Such size of paper is easy to handle. The mouse device, however, cannot print data, extracted partly from data displayed on the display screen of the computer, on a sheet of paper of such an appropriate size that the data looks to advantage. Thus, the mouse is very unsatisfactory.
If a guide that can move the housing of the mouse in a straight line is not used when the mouse device moves on the recording paper while printing, the housing of the mouse device can obliquely move or meander on the recording paper to thereby fail to perform satisfactory printing. That is, manipulation for printing is troublesome.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mouse device with a built-in printer capable of sightly printing on a sheet of recording paper having a size suitable for being loaded in the mouse device and being left as a memorandum, and not on a sheet of recording paper having a large size such as the external recording paper.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a mouse device with a built-in printer having a discharge structure by which printed recording paper discharged out of the mouse device is difficult to droop onto a plane on which the mouse device moves to thereby avoid hindering the manipulation of the mouse device.
In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a mouse device for use as an input device of a computer, comprising: a printer unit provided within a housing of the mouse device for printing based on print information received from the computer on recording paper loaded within the housing of the mouse device.
Since the mouse device prints print information from the computer on printing paper of a size suitable for being loaded within the housing thereof, a print that will be obtained looks to advantage as a memorandum.
The printer unit may comprise: a paper loading section in which the recording paper is loadable; feeding means for feeding the recording paper loaded in the loading section; a print head for printing on the recording paper fed by the feeding means; and means for providing a discharge port through which the recording paper printed by the print head is discharged by the feeding means out of the housing.
This mouse device prints recording paper loaded in its loading section while feeding the recording paper and then discharges it from the discharge port to the outside thereof. Thus, the discharged printed part of paper can be cut away at once and pasted as a memorandum, for example, to a notebook.
The discharge port may be provided extending vertically so that the printed recording paper is discharged taking a substantially vertical attitude out of the housing.
The mouse device discharges the printed part from its discharge port to the outside thereof while causing the printed part to take a substantially vertical attitude. Thus, the discharged printed paper is difficult to droop onto the plane where the mouse moves and hence there occurs no troubles in the manipulation of the mouse device even when the printer is under operation.
The discharge port may be provided at a position on a side of the housing where discharge of the recorded paper is free from being hindered by a user""s fingers that hold the housing when the mouse device is manipulated.
Thus, a trouble is avoided in which the user will close the discharge port with his or her fingers to thereby jam the discharge port with the recording paper to be discharged out of the housing of the mouse device during manipulating the mouse device.
The recording paper loading section may have an open end through which the recording paper is loadable into the loading section, and comprising: a cover for closing the open end of the loading section openably.
Thus, only by opening the cover, recording paper can easily be loaded within the housing of the mouse device.
The mouse device may further comprise: print head moving means, responsive to closing and opening of the cover, for moving the print head to a print position and a non-print position, respectively.
Thus, even when the printing head is not moved by an operation different from the opening/closing operation of the cover, recording paper can be loaded in the loading section.
The mouse device may further comprise: a window provided on the cover for confirming externally the recording paper loaded in the loading section.
Thus, even when no cover is opened, the presence of the recording paper can be confirmed.
The recording paper may take a roll of recording tape.
Thus, use of such roll of tape-like recording paper enables successive printing without the necessity for exchanging, when sheets of recording paper are used, a printed sheet of printing paper with a new non-printed one each time such printing occurs.
The recording paper may take the form of a rectangle.
Thus, a print having a size appropriate as a memorandum is obtained without requiring any cutting operation after printing.
The printer unit is not limited to a one that prints while feeding the recording paper. The printer unit may comprise: a recording paper loading section in which the recording paper is loadable; printing means comprising a print head that will be moved to and print on recording paper loaded in the recording paper loading section.
Thus, even such printer unit can print any part extracted from a character string displayed on a display screen of the computer on a sheet of paper having a relatively small size so as to be left as a memorandum that looks to advantage.
The print head may comprise a thermal head; and the recording paper comprises heat-sensitive paper colored by heat produced by the thermal head.
Thus, no ink ribbon is required and hence the printer unit is simplified in composition.